The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 29

3 ABIGAIL VAN BUREN Neighbors yet to pay Page 2D Crossword 2D Horoscope 2D Television 5D SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 1995 Environment LIVING The problem with Idling the ocean's most-hated killer -A HV4 rs -K "i' y- i Xi. 'r -jfi 'I ''Vf X'y i MMMMMiiM aai i iti t-i i mn ij nnri -a nmwfci By JANE BOSVELD Omnimagazim When it comes to sympathy for endan- gered species, the shark is at the bottom of the list This poster child for terror rarely inspires goodwill. Yet many of the 400 known species of I sharks are now endangered, including the infamous great white, the hammerhead, the tiger and the lemon shark. It isn't hard to guess the greatest threat I to these ancient predators that should be able to take care of themselves. The answer, of course, is man.

Human beings slaughter millions of i sharks each year. Fishing boats net thou- sands of them by accident and, rather than release them, the crews kill them, then toss their bodies back to the sea to I rot Equally devastating to shark popula-, tions is "finning," a practice in which sharks are caught, their fins cut off and their dying bodies thrown back into the sea. The fins are then dried and sold for I use in shark-fin soup and tonics. And to make matters even worse, there I is the sheer vanity of sport fishing which adds to the massacre. Scientists who study sharks have been alarmed for years by the effects such exploitation has on shark populations.

They warn of the possible effect depleted shark populations may have on ocean life. Decrease the number of sharks, whose feeding habits help to keep populations of other fish in check, and you offset the balance of aquatic life, "Sharks help control disease in fish populations," says shark expert Samuel Gruber of the University of Miami. "They play an important role in the evolution of prey species, taking the sick and unhealthy fish, leaving the more fit to breed." The difficult task Gruber and other shark experts face is getting the public to care about the fate of creatures they love to hate, or as Gruber puts it, to care about "the death fish from hell." He and scientists have gotten the word out to the U.S. government, but legislation may be slow in coming, primarily because I there's not enough pressure from the pub-" lie. The way to get public support, Gruber is convinced, is through education.

Once people understand the valuable role sharks play in ocean ecology, he believes, they will realize how important it is to preserve shark populations. Sympathetic or not, sharks, like all I Earth's living creatures, are anything but 'dispensable. As conservationists and animal-rights advocates work to change the prejudicial nature of the human mind, other animals perhaps even sharks are sure to COMMENTARY Bum deal no big deal to viewers During Thursday's ER, a man got out of bed and walked across the room, his naked backside in full view. WSMV-Channel 4's switchboards must have been flooded, right? Probably tied up phone lines in all of West Nashville, huh? Think again. By midday yesterday, the station had had one that's right O-N-E phone call.

What's happened, Nashville? When NYPD Blue premiered 18 months ago, WKRN-Channel 2 was flooded with calls and letters. People carried picket signs In front of the station. General manager Deb McDermott was given her assignment for eternity by one caller, who said she wouldn't be greeting St Peter at the Pearly Gates. This time, no pickets, no calls, no eternal damnation. But no disclaimer or advance attention either.

Frankly, the bare backside caught even the people at WSMV a little off guard. The network failed to notify the station ahead of time. That's a situation that operations and program director Larry Em-sweller says will change. "I plan on talking to the network," he said yesterday. "I'm definitely opposed to censorship, but I think that we as an affiliate should be notified so that we can take steps to let our viewers know." Throw caution to the wind ER viewers just didn't seem to care.

I'm not sure you can read any great sociological impact into the lack of complaints. People who would have been offended by the nudity simply did not know about it But what you can read into it is that ER producers did not include nudity as a ratings gimmick. Steven Bochco, NYPD Blue creator, leaked plans for nudity and off-color language to the press a good year before the show ever aired. All of the advance publicity guaranteed a high tune-in for a brand new show. When another Bochco show, Civil Wars, made Mariel Hemingway disrobe two years ago, it was definitely a ratings ploy; the show was near death in the ratings.

But ER didn't need any type of ratings stunt; it was the top-rated show on television last week. For ER, there was nothing to gain by nudity. And maybe that means the sight of a bare bum on broadcast TV just isn't shocking anymore. On the one hand, they want federal money, but at home, WDCN-Channel 8 would just as soon separate from the Metro School Board. The school board holds WDCN's license, making it technically the "owner" of the station.

WDCN is expected to bring the issue up at the Board of Education meeting Tuesday. The station wants the license assigned to a non-profit organization, along with the equipment and title to land and buildings. The station also wants $3.5 million in capital improvement bonds, protected pension and benefits plans for the station employees and $1 million in funding over five years. What does the school board get in return? "Relief from an important community responsibility relief from controversial program issues and substantial long-term economic incentives," says the proposal. The school board and WDCN need to separate, no doubt about it But asking for the moon ain't the way to do it this for Mom and Dad," who were burned by the Nashville music business 12 years ago.

Country singer Wade Hayes says, "I'm 'Better' is just fine for Wade Hayes By ROBERT K. OERMANN ade Hayes is trying not to get excited. The 25-year-old Oklahoman is country's first breakthrough new artist of 1995. His Old Enough to Know Better is steaming steadily toward the top-10. As a result, Wade was signed as the opening act on the Tracy LawrenceAaron Tippin concert tour and hit the road last week.

His debut album appeared this month and vaulted instantly onto the nation's top-selling charts. But the soft-spoken youngster casts his eyes downward whenever he dares to dream of stardom. "I hate for people to say, 'Oh, it's going to No. he says. "If it doesn't and they've said that to me, then it is really gonna hurt.

"That gets to me when people say I'm gonna be a star. The only thing I can say is, 'Boy it sure would be nice to have a big But I try to keep a level head. "I'm excited. but I'm scared." Wade's humility and small-town shyness aren't the only reasons he's RELATIONSHIPS We're looking for star-crossed couples who have fallen In love and tied the knot more than once. If you married your one true love TWICE (or more) and would share your wisdom on the joy of love the second time around, we'd like to hear from you for an upcoming story.

Write to Love Again, Tennessean Living, 1100 Broadway, Nashville 37203, fax to 259-8057, or e-mail living Deadline is 5 p.m. Thursday. Please include your name and a daytime telephone number. doing To approaching this whole thing with caution. As a teen-ager Wade Hayes watched the Nashville music business chew up his father's dreams and spit them out.

The end result was bankruptcy. Born in 1969 and raised in tiny Bethel Acres, Wade has heard country music all his life. He sang bluegrass tunes at age picked up a guitar at age 3, and went to a Merle Haggard concert at age 9. "I was never really one for rock 'n' roll. I didn't even start to listen to it until I was 19 so as far as it having any bearing on me, it doesn't at all." His favorites were Gene Watson, Lefty Frizzell, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Gary Stewart.

His mentor was his father, Don Hayes. Don sang in the clubs of Bethel Acres and nearby Shawnee. The carpenter and construction worker burned with desire to make it in Music City. When Wade was 13 his father sold their Oklahoma home and moved the boy, his mother and two sisters to Nashville. "It was rough on us," Wade recalls.

"City kids are just different than country kids. In Oklahoma we lived way out in the country. My school was just little bitty; and I was going from kindergarten through senior high in that same school. Turn to PAGE 2D, Column 4 3 SECTION EDITORS Catherine Mayhew, Managing EditorFeatures, 259-8058. Patrick Connolly, Deputy Managing EditorFeatures, 259-8040.

How to list an event, call 259-8050. fax an event, 259-8057 E-mail: livingtennessean.com as 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Country's newcomers Some country artists do weS right out of the shoot, sending their debut CDs to the top of the charts. Wade Hayes experiences his first top-20 hit in 1995. His debut album, Old Enough to Know Better, is Txjdget prteecf ($7.98, cassette; $11 .98, CD) to encourage people to try the newcomer's sound. Check out these artists whose 1 994 debut CD earned them a gold or platinum award: Faith Hill, Take Me As I Am, Warner Bros. The Tractors, The Tractors, Arista David Ban, Thinkirf Problem, Warner Bros.

BlackHawk, HackHawk, Arista Rick Trevlno, Dos Mundos, Columbia (Mexico) John Berry, John Berry, Liberty Jeff Foxworthy, You Might Be a Redneck If, Warner Bros. United States gold records are earned for 500,000 In sales or roughly $5 minion in gross earnings. Platinum records are awarded for one million units sold in the U.S. or nearly $10 million in gross receipts. BY THE NUMBERS Top Video rentals for last week compiled from a national sample of rental reports: The Client Maverick Speed Blown Away When a Man Loves a Woman Love Trouble Renaissance Man Guarding Tess Beverly Hills Cop III 10.

Wyaft Earp fey 1.1 TELEVISION Awards season Golden Globe Awards, which pays homage to the best in both movies and television series in star-studded ceremonies at 9 p.m. on cable's TBS. REAL PEOPLE On: Moving "We moved to Nashville from Lexington, when my husband took a job with Saturn," said Barbara Boyer. "I'm looking forward to a nursing career here. I just graduated from nursing school.

I like Nashville. It has a wide variety of thjngs to offer." 4. BOYER starts A family portrait brings the misters along with The Five Mrs. Buchanans at 8:30 p.m. on WTVF-Channel 5.

Complete TV listings on Page 5D. with the iiii iF.22t$.